Success Stories

Hi Paola
Just a quick note to thank you again for all you've done to help Opie and I.
This morning we went for a walk right down the main street of Kemptville- something I was reluctant to do prior to your classes - and I am now much more confident that I can manage both of us through situations that used to cause immense stress! I'd like to continue working with Opie - if you have something suitable for us in the new year, please let me know.

With sincere thanks,
Julia and Opie

The Wylies & Kain

Shake-A-Paw is the best thing that could have ever happened for us, and Kain! As a pup, Kain was shy of strangers, and barked and growled at Paola when he first met her…With owning a german shepherd, we wanted to make sure that Kain became a pleasure for others to be around, and a confident dog whom others would be safe around; as well, to get over his fears of being friendly with other dogs.

Shake-A-Paw gave us the tools we needed to help Kain build his comfort and confidence with people he didn’t know. The trainers at Shake-A-Paw understand that each dog has their own personalities, and anxieties, and came up for ways to train with what worked for Kain, respecting his boundaries with unknown people, helping him to be a happier dog in the long run.

Now Kain will accept treats, and play fetch with ‘outsiders’, and allow an occasional pat from a stranger, and loves to play with all dogs, big and small. Shake-A-Paw trainers are patient, and always willing to offer advice in and out of class to students, and that has been great when a problem arises, that needs to be addressed.

That’s the ‘people’ opinion of Shake-A-Paw! As for Kain, as soon as we make the turn towards the school, he is beside himself with excitement, jumping and whining with anticipation to see his friends, and to get to work. (The Wylies & Kain)

Pete & Family

Paola - we owe you a great big thank you for the immediate response to our cry for help when we adopted a rescue dog with a lot of "issues"! Pete came to us January 31, 2007. He was fearful, aggressive, had a very painful injury to his knee and we just didn't know how to gain his trust. You were able to adjust your schedule to make an "emergency" house call to offer us advice and counseling so that we would be able to help Pete.

I'm thrilled to say that by following your advice he is doing incredibly well. Now that his knee is better the vet has given him the go-ahead to start your beginners obedience class so that his social skills can be worked on - he's becoming a great companion to us and our other dog Jock (who by the way has also benefitted from your classes - can't wait to do tracking again!).

Thanks again Paola for being there for us - we are very grateful. I've attached a picture of a much happier Pete than the Pete you'd met. (Pam)

Amber & Family

Amber just loves going to agility class! She likes to play in the snow, and watch the snowmobile races. Sleeping in the sun and hanging our with her sister, Brita are 2 of her favourite ways to spend the day.

Amber is the favourite dog in the trailer park, every kid gives her kisses. She is reading up on bird identification. Next year she hopes to be in a TV commercial. (Cyndie)

Tanya & Tala

Several years ago, I had the good fortune to come across Shake-A-Paw Dog training. I owned a very dominant, spayed female Alaskan Malamute -- that happened to be about 31" at the shoulder and 130 pounds.

Tala had broken most of my fingers, on several occasions, left gashes and bruises on me and blacked out my eyes on several occasions, from snout punching. A favorite game was to rip the sleep off of my shirt on a walk at the midway point. She was a problem-dog.

I called her the TalaGator most of the time. She and I had been removed or released from several obedience classes in other training facilities. Tala scared the other people in the class or she scared the trainers or she would try to neuter any intact male she came across. I tried for months to find a decent training program. I resigned myself to the that fact I had a dog who would never go out in public. I was referred to Paola and she spent months working on the pair of us. When we began we were 50' or so away from any other living thing.

The TalaGator loved to rear up on her hind legs, let out a snarl and show the world her teeth. Eventually, I had control of the dog, extreme, precise control from obedience lessons taught by Paula and her friends. I gained knowledge. But, most importantly I gained a pet. Tala and I did multiple sessions of obedience and agility training with Paola over the next few years. Tala became signal-trained, word-trained and a behaved dog. The dog could go anywhere. I gained all that from attending Paola's training classes.

Unfortunately, Tala died at 4.5 years of age from osteosarcoma. I am only grateful that I was able to attend the many sessions at Shake-A-Paw that I did, so that what time I had with the TalaGator, was as memorable as it is now. (Tanya)

Cooper & Family

From the moment we brought Cooper home he's been a joy! You just can't help but smile when you see this little guy wagging his whole body - so happy all of the time. That is until he was attached to a leash. The adorable, 20 pound ball of fluff turned into a raging maniac! I was being dragged around by a bucking bronco disguised as a puppy!

I had taken obedience classes from Paola with our first Golden so I gave her a call about Cooper. Paola stepped in and solved all of our leash problems with just 2 private sessions! Cooper was walking calmly and quietly on a loose leash with a flat collar within hours of Paola's intervention. No choker chains or odd devices, just an understanding of dog behaviors and positive reinforcement. We regularly receive compliments on our beautifully behaved dogs when we have them out in public. Thanks Paola! (Cheryl)

Skye & Family

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to tell everyone about my precious special skye terrier, Skye. We bought Skye from what we later found out was a puppy mill out of Quebec. She came to us very sick, in fact almost dying in the first week. She was so sick, and I loved her so much I carried her around her first 48 hours not knowing if she was going to make it or not. Well, she did, but we soon found that she was a damaged dog due to abuse and I was the only person she truly trusted. How I loved that little girl! She was so afraid, and bit, hating anyone coming near me. Eventually she let in my husband, and my sister but that was it.

We wanted Skye to be all she could be so we enrolled her in your obedience class when she was 6 months old. What a wonderful time we had and you helped Skye so very much! She did socialize with other dogs as long as I was by her side. What you taught us to help Skye was nothing short of a miracle. She became a different dog, still damaged, but not as worrisome. Without your training classes Skye would not have made it the 4 years we had her.

Thank you for what you did for this dear little dog. You are nothing short of a miracle worker!

Unfortunately, while on a vacation, we left Skye at a lady's place who takes care of dogs and the vet thinks she was badly beaten and kicked and had to be put down. It was a horrible nightmare, but we know that Skye had 4 good years of love from me, and if not for you, it would have been much less. Thank you for having such fun interesting classes, they made the difference Skye needed. (Betty)

Nellie & Family

Do you remember our puggle Nellie? We're the family that was hard hit for a while by my husband's broken leg. Remember that little puppy that was always on the run, biting like crazy, and overexcited by our attempts to touch her? Well, truthfully, we hardly remember because today she is a completely different dog! After turning six months she became the lap dog we always dreamed of - calm, offering herself for as much petting as she can get,wonderful with children and other dogs and so the list goes on.

Part of that is maturity I guess but clearly credit must go to her early training. Thanks for your support. I've been meaning to drop you a line for a while so you could give encouragement to other new puppy owners. We never ever thought Nellie would blossom into the companion my son had long wanted and had we known maybe those first weeks would have been easier. (Joanne & Bill)

Mowgli & Family

Mowgli dog is the best behaved 11 month old puppy that my husband and I have ever seen. I take him to work at a park visitors center where he knows when to be friendly and when to lay down quietly. It's so rewarding to see what a great boy he's turned into. We never could have done it without the help of Poala at Shake-a Paw! Mowgli & Family

Claira & Buster

My friend and I went to Paola to help us with puppy obedience training for Buster -- an exuberant and friendly Black Labrador Retriever, and Dawson -- a sensitive and cautious Golden Retriever mix. The two dogs are very different, and the issues we had with them were also very different.

Paola was able to quickly identify and focus on the needs of each dog. She helped us develop training practices that foster healthy habits and behaviours, in the dog and in the human at the other end of the leash. (Leanne & Dawson)

Oreo and Family

Our Oreo is a Sheltie, and was out of control before we started with Paola. Leash walking was a disaster, everything under the sun went into his mouth, and there was no way he'd listen to us. This of course was not Oreo's fault, since his owners had not yet been trained!

After a one lesson with Paola, everything started to change around. We took several courses with Oreo and Shake-a-Paw, and both he and his family are a very happy bunch.

Thanks Paola! (Dennis, Anda, Alda, and Oreo)

Liam & Family

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Paola, owner of Shake-a-Paw. Paola was recommended to me by a neighbour as well as one of the pet stores in Kemptville. When Paola met our new Miniature Schnauzer "Liam" one of the first things she told me was that he lacked confidence; by our third session Liam had gained confidence and was responding to Paola's commands. She was able to tell me how he would react to the training methods and what I should expect and, much to my amazement, everything she said was exactly how it would happen! Paola has a great approach and is in possession of a wealth of knowledge that really helped train me as much as my new dog. I would not hesitate in recommending Shaw-A-Paw to any dog owner.

Regards,

Linda Purdy

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